States That Border the Mississippi River

Minnesota

• Area: 79,610 square miles (206,190 sq km)
• Population: 5,611,179
• Capital: St. Paul

The headwaters of the Mississippi River have historically been recorded as being in Lake Itasca, in the northern part of the state of Minnesota. There is some disagreement amongst geologists about whether this is really the river's beginning—some say that the headwaters might be in North Dakota—but Minnesota is generally accepted as the northernmost state that touches the river.

Wisconsin

• Area: 54,310 square miles (140,673 sq km)
• Population: 5,813,568
• Capital: Madison

Wisconsin and four other states co-manage the Upper Mississippi River, which comprises about 1,250 miles (2,012 km) of the Mississippi's length and includes all water north of Cairo, Illinois. There are 33 river towns along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

Iowa

• Area: 56,272 square miles (145,743 sq km)
• Population: 3,156,145
• Capital: Des Moines

Iowa takes advantage of its location by offering riverboat rides on the Mississippi River in several cities. These include Burlington, Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport, Dubuque, and Marquette. Many riverboats are rented and docked through casinos.

Illinois

• Area: 55,584 square miles (143,963 sq km)
• Population: 12,741,080
• Capital: Springfield

Illinois has the largest population of all Mississippi River border states but not the greatest total area. The Lower Mississippi River begins and the Upper Mississippi River ends in Cairo, Illinois. This state, called "the Prairie State", features Chicago, one of the largest and most populous cities in the U.S.

Missouri

• Area: 68,886 square miles (178,415 sq km)
• Population: 6,126,452
• Capital: Jefferson City

In Missouri, you can visit St. Louis to see where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi. To the surprise of many, the Missouri River is slightly longer than the Mississippi River, making it the longest river system in the United States.

Kentucky

• Area: 39,728 square miles (102,896 sq km)
• Population: 4,468,402
• Capital: Frankfort

A portion of Kentucky bordered by the Mississippi River, known as the "Kentucky Bend", is accessible by land only through Tennessee. It is a small peninsula that technically belongs to Kentucky but is not in physical contact with the state at all.

When surveyors were first delineating the boundaries between the states of Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, their estimates of where the ​Mississippi River would meet their line was off. The river snaked where it was expected to be a more direct path through the states and this was only discovered by surveyors after their borders were already finalized—they gave the unconnected hunk of land to Kentucky.

Tennessee

• Area: 41,217 square miles (106,752 sq km)
• Population: 6,770,010
• Capital: Nashville

A Tennessee trip down the Mississippi ends in Memphis, where you could travel through scenic country featuring the Chickasaw Bluffs on the western side of Tennessee past the site of a Civil War battle, an area now called Fort Pillow State Park.

Arkansas

• Area: 52,068 square miles (134,856 sq km)
• Population: 3,013,825
• Capital: Little Rock

In Arkansas, the Mississippi River crosses the Delta region of the South. There are no fewer than four major state parks along this southern state's river frontage. Learn about agriculture on your next visit to Arkansas.

Mississippi

• Area: 46,907 square miles (121,489 sq km)
• Population: 2,986,530
• Capital: Jackson

Mississippi's extensive river region is the birthplace of the Delta blues and it contains Delta swamps, bayous, and wetlands. The Mississippi Delta, in the northwest section of the state, is considered "the most southern place on earth" and boasts a rich history. You can visit Vicksburg to see the site of an important Civil War battle.

Louisiana

• Area: 43,562 square miles (112,826 sq km)
• Population: 4,659,978
• Capital: Baton Rouge 

Historic Louisiana cities Baton Rouge and New Orleans are both Mississippi River cities. The river empties south of New Orleans into the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to hosting the river's mouth, Louisiana—Algiers Point in New Orleans, to be exact—features the river's deepest section of 200 feet.